Vandals destroy light display

Harry Felderman is not too happy with the grinches who are trying to ruin Christmas.

This Christmas season was going to be one of the brighter in downtown Greeley thanks to volunteers who raised the money or worked on lighting up to 70 trees in Lincoln Park for a new festival called Greeley Lights the Nights. About 38,000 lights were strung on the trees in the park, to go along with Christmas

decorations in front of the Union Colony Civic Center across the street to the west of the park.

But somebody has been stealing, destroying and vandalizing the lights and displays.

“They’ve taken strings of lights, they’ve broken some of them and they even stole the large lighted deer in front of the UCCC. That was anchored with 18-inch spikes in the ground. I just don’t understand how anybody could do something like this, especially this time of the year,” Felderman said.

A former Greeley City Councilman, Felderman led the group of about 12 people on the committee for Greeley Lights the Nights.

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In addition to the lights and the deer, Felderman said the Greeley/Weld Chamber of Commerce had a lighted train as a part of the display.

The lights were stolen, and the train kicked in, he said.

“It’s just plain vandalism, and that’s what I have a hard time understanding. I just hope that if some of these things start turning up in yards, the parents might question the kids where they came from. I don’t know that it’s kids who are doing it. It could be adults. But either way, it just makes no sense whatsoever,” Felderman said.

He said he had no idea the monetary damage done, but said that really doesn’t matter at this point.

“A lot of people spent a lot of time and effort doing this for the community, and now we’ve got a few trying to tear it down,” he said.

There was some discussion among the committee and others that publicizing the vandalism would result in more, but it has been going on since before Thanksgiving.

Felderman said he hoped that talking about the problem would result in people being more aware, not only at Lincoln Park and the UCCC, but in other parts of town as well.

“If they see something that’s not right, then call the police. This is something the police can’t be watching for all the time; they need help from residents,” Felderman said. If the program is to continue in future years, he said money may be needed to provide security for the area.

“I hope that doesn’t have to happen. I’m just extremely disappointed at what has happened,” he said.